Climate Change An Issue After Sandy Report

By Phil Gregory, WBGO News
Little Ferry. August 20, 2013

The federal task force report on rebuilding from Sandy finds the impact of rising sea levels needs to be considered in planning for future storms.

Speaking at an event in Little Ferry to discuss the report, Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell says the rebuilding from Sandy needs to be less vulnerable to sea level rise and stronger storms resulting from climate change.

“We need to take an approach that understands and recognizes it instead of fighting the science.”

“We are pursuing significant infrastructure improvements to our state in order to try to make ourselves stronger and more resilient for whenever the next storm comes. The rest of that is a scientific discussion and debate that I’m simply not engaged in.”

Pascrell says he understands Christie’s focus on dealing with the immediate concerns of Sandy victims, but he says it’s also important to consider the long-term protections needed to prevent problems from future storms.

“I don’t think the governor was being dismissive. He wants the more boots on the ground approach at this particular time and long term, but it may not be long term. We could have a storm next week, and that is why it’s parallel efforts that should be going on right now.”

Federal Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says climate change is not what Sandy victims are concerned about now.

“When you talk to a homeowner or a business owner they don’t care about the causes. They don’t care about where this is coming from. What they care about is, and they know based on these storms, that they’re at risk.”

Newark Today

A monthly, one-hour, live call-in program focusing on social, economic and political topics pertaining to Newark.

On the March edition of Newark Today, we talk with Mayor Ras Baraka about what's been going on in the city, from the continuing reform saga at the Newark Public Schools to the city's efforts to repair community-police relations.

Conversations with Allan Wolper

Lacey Schwartz has written, produced and directed a documentary, Little White Lie, detailing how she grew up as a white, Jewish girl in Woodstock, New York, only to learn in college that her biological father was black and a friend of her mother. Lacey biological father was the late Rodney Parker, a legendary New York City college basketball scout from Brooklyn whose life was captured in a book called Heaven is a Playground. She married an African American man and considers herself a woman of color and retains her Jewish heritage.

SportsJam with Doug Doyle

Frank Scandale is the co-founder of The Daily Payoff, a website dedicated to informing the public about the gaming and gambling industry. Scandale, a long-time New York Mets fan, is a former editor with The Record (Bergen County) and The Denver Post.